A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are often found in amusement parks and theme parks around the world. LaMarcus Adna Thompson obtained one of the first known patents for a roller coaster design in 1885, related to the Switchback Railway that opened a year earlier at Coney Island. The track in a coaster design does not necessarily have to be a complete circuit, as shuttle roller coasters demonstrate. Most roller coasters have multiple cars in which passengers sit and are restrained. Two or more cars hooked together are called a train. Some roller coasters, notably Wild Mouse roller coasters, run with single cars.
Anton Schwarzkopf was a German engineer who founded Schwarzkopf Industries GmbH, a German manufacturer of roller coasters and other amusement rides that were sold to amusement parks and travelling funfairs around the world.
A shuttle roller coaster is any roller coaster that ultimately does not make a complete circuit, but rather reverses at some point throughout its course and traverses the same track backwards. These are sometimes referred to as boomerang roller coasters, due to the ubiquity of Vekoma's Boomerang coaster model.
The launched roller coaster is a modern form of roller coaster. A launched coaster initiates a ride with high amounts of acceleration via one or a series of linear induction motors (LIM), linear synchronous motors (LSM), catapults, tires, chains, or other mechanisms employing hydraulic or pneumatic power. This mode of acceleration powers many of the fastest rollercoasters in the world.
A suspended roller coaster is a type of steel roller coaster in which the car hangs from the bottom of the rolling stock by a pivoting fulcrum or hinge assembly. This allows the car and riders to swing side to side as the train races along the track. Due to the swing designs, these roller coasters cannot invert riders.
Whizzer, originally Willard's Whizzer, is an Anton Schwarzkopf Speedracer roller coaster located at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois. It was one of two identical roller coasters built for the Marriott Corporation for each of their “Great America” parks at their debut in 1976, with an identical version of the Whizzer at California's Great America. Marriott continued to operate both parks until selling them in 1984. Manufactured by Anton Schwarzkopf of Germany, the two rides were the last “Speedracer” models ever built. The California Whizzer was dismantled in 1988 while the Illinois Whizzer remains in operation, as one of only two Speedracers still in existence worldwide.
Canyon Blaster is a steel roller coaster located at Great Escape in Queensbury, New York.
WildCat was a steel roller coaster located at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. Designed by Werner Stengel and manufactured by Anton Schwarzkopf, the ride opened to the public in 1979. Cedar Point made the decision in 2012 to remove WildCat to allow for expansion of the Celebration Plaza, also citing that the coaster had reached the end of its service life. It was dismantled and scrapped.
The Riddler Mindbender, previously named Mind Bender, is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Over Georgia near Atlanta, Georgia. Billed as "the world's first triple-loop roller coaster" when it opened on March 31, 1978, Mindbender has maintained its popularity since its opening. In its 30th anniversary season in 2008, Mindbender was ranked #15 by Amusement Today magazine in its annual Golden Ticket Awards, and was one of only two roller coasters built before 1980 on the list; the other was its "fraternal twin," Shockwave, at Six Flags Over Texas.
SooperDooperLooper is a looping roller coaster at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania. It was designed by Werner Stengel, and built by Anton Schwarzkopf. SooperDooperLooper is located in the Hollow section of the park, across from Skyrush.
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is a 135-acre (55 ha) animal theme park located in Vallejo, California, off of Interstate 80 between San Francisco and Sacramento. The park includes a variety of roller coasters and other amusement rides. Six Flags Discovery Kingdom has been part of the Six Flags chain of amusement parks since 1999.
The Yankee Cannonball is a wooden out-and-back roller coaster built in 1930 at Lakewood Park and relocated in 1936 to Canobie Lake Park, Salem, New Hampshire.
Tsunami was a steel roller coaster manufactured by Anton Schwarzkopf and located at the San Marcos National Fair in Mexico. The coaster was previously located at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom as Zonga, Six Flags AstroWorld as "Texas Tornado", and operated for 10 years on the German traveling funfair circuit as "Thriller" After its time at Marine World, it was sold to the San Marcos National Fair, where it last operated.
Shuttle Loop is a type of steel launched shuttle roller coaster designed by Reinhold Spieldiener of Intamin and manufactured by Anton Schwarzkopf. A total of 12 installations were produced between 1977 and 1982. These 12 installations have been located in a total of 22 different amusement parks.
La Broca opened in 1997 in as Parque del Café's first roller coaster. The original ride opened in 1973 and stood for 25 seasons at Worlds of Fun, which at the time was the longest-standing coaster in the park's history . It is one of only two Schwarzkopf Speed Racer models still in operation today; the other is Whizzer at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois. The site where Zambezi Zinger once stood is now occupied by Boomerang. The ride was unusual as it did not have seatbelts or any lap bar restraint.
Jumbo Jet is a steel roller coaster located at Chelyuskintsev Park in Minsk, Belarus. It originally operated from 1972 to 1978 at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. The roller coaster is a prefabricated model that features an electric spiral lift mechanism, and it was one of the earliest known coasters to use this lift mechanism.
The Dreamworld Express is a 2 ft narrow gauge railway located at the Dreamworld theme park on the Gold Coast, Queensland in Australia.
Cannonball Express may refer to:
Jumbo Jet was a prefabricated steel roller coaster located within the Fun Fair section of Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey. Erected in 1975, the attraction was an example of the Jet Star 3 / Jumbo Jet model line designed by Werner Stengel and manufactured by Anton Schwarzkopf.
